Sutton Coldfield Festival of Arts

• Venue: Royal Hotel Assembly Hall

Claret are an experienced Sutton trio who play an array of instruments with a large repertoire of folk and roots music from the British Isles with hints of jazz, and have an extra string to their bow - performing for ceilidhs and barn dances.

The lead instrument for the dances is accordion, accompanied by guitar, electric bass, flute and whistles and bodhran. Occasionally the group is joined by a guest fiddle player too!

From the dance point of view, Claret are primarily an all-round band rather than strictly traditional, e.g. Playford, country or only one type of dance. You do not have to know about the dancing - Claret will call the steps so that locals can simply get on with having fun trying it! Local caller Adrian Barnett will guide attendees through the evening.

Participation is the essence of the night, and when you take a breather, Claret - Sandra Robinson (vocals, flute), Tim Robinson (guitar, accordion) and Bryan Widdowson (bass, guitar) will entertain you with music and song.

Many people choose this sort of entertainment for weddings as an alternative to non-live music entertainment, so come along - you have nothing to lose!

Claret are looking forward to seeing you there at 8pm!
Admission is free.

Visit http://clarettheband.tripod.com

The Assembly Hall is a hidden gem of a building in King Edward’s Square that is part of the Royal Hotel complex.

It had been partitioned by previous owners of the hotel and had been used as store rooms, but has been painstakingly restored under the watchful eye of current owner Adrian Harvey.

Marian Baxter, local studies librarian at Sutton Coldfield Reference Library, found a building plan for the Hall which suggested it had been erected in 1897.

She said the architect was Thomas G Price of Temple Row, Birmingham and it had been built for John Seal of Manor Road, the then owner of the adjacent hotel.

Seal also built an extension to the main hotel, bringing it down to the corner of High Street and King Edward’s Square, in 1896.

Marian found an article from a December 1897 edition of the Sutton Coldfield News about an “annual smoking concert” held at the Hall.

She said the building had always been part of the hotel complex. The Grade Two-listed hotel itself, which can be found on maps as far back as 1761, was called the Swan until around 1900.

Marian said the Assembly Hall had been used as a jazz club in the 1960s.